The applications of GIS in the earth science in China

The geographical information system is a science and technology that gets rapidly development in recent years. The present status of GIS is reviewed in brief, and the main property of GIS for researching in the earth science is described. The writer introduces the present status in researching and applications of GIS in some aspects of the earth science in China, such as the plotting of the map, the management of natural resource, environmental assessment and renovation, and then draws a conclusion that it is valuable on theory and advanced on method to put the GIS into studying of the earth science. The prospect of GIS is envisaged at the end of the paper.